The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said the Karakoram International University (KIU) management is destroying the institution and future of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The university had been established in 2002, and currently has 2,300 students, 100 faculty members and over a hundred administrative staff members in 16 academic departments. However, all these departments are rife with internal politics.
The university administration has remained unresponsive to demands of basic rights like dignity, free speech and disapproval of objectionable decisions, said PEW President Dr Murtaza Mughal.
Talking to a delegation of teachers, students and parents, he said it was unfortunate that the KIU administration had been encouraging the violation of basic rights and taking decisions disregarding merit, which had led to the disempowerment of teachers and students.
Mughal said it was unfortunate that the university discouraged independent learning and critical thinking, and instead promoted favouritism, as it had been established to benefit people in far flung areas. Many institutions are failing to prepare our children for a future that is better than their predecessors’, he noted.
Mughal said we must not destroy the foundation of a better future as education is the single best investment a society can make. Institutes of higher learning need a good scouring as well as reforms, to get them back on track, he said. The government must take corrective measures to nip plummet in the bud, he added.
